Why didn’t I think of this? A rechargeable battery that plugs directly into your USB port to recharge. This is a lifesaver for us absent-minded geeks who spend almost every waking hour in front of a computer and tend not to lug around a battery charger.

If your batteries are dying, simply pop up the cap and jam ’em into that USB port that is so handily available. It needs about 250ma of juice from your USB and you’ll be up and running in a few hours. Manufactured by Moixa, the AA battery size runs for $19.95 a pair, not a bad price for such a useful thing. Other sizes available include 9V, AAA, C/D and most major phone/ blackberry batteries.